VMware Virtual Infrastructure SDK version 2.0

Compatibility Issues with SDK 1.x

There are several compatibility issues with SDK 1.x.

PutUpdates Limitations
PutUpdates operations have the following limitations:

  • NetworkAdapter mode and devicename PutUpdates are not yet supported. If you create a virtual machine with a devicename and mode specified, these attributes are ignored.

  • Certain PutUpdates were incorrectly documented in the 1.x SDK as working. They still do not work in the compatibility layer.

    • Configuring VMotion on ESX Server 2.5 or 3.0 hosts is not the same as in the 1.x SDK. In the compatibility layer, only the "migrationInfo/network" configuration parameter is used, besides the migrationEnabled boolean. A VMotion Network Adapter must be set up from the VirtualCenter user interface, to be used for VMotion. The ipAddress, subnet and gateway are now configured when this VMotion Network Adapter is set up. Please refer to the VirtualCenter documentation for more information.

    • PutUpdates on datalocator for CD-ROM and Floppy must have reference to an ISO or floppy image file that is either in a datastore or has an absolute path.
      For example: [datastorename] cdrom.iso
      OR
      []/myisos/cdrom.iso

      Note: The cdrom.iso file need not be present when CD is created.

  • Setting "auto detect" for cd["key"]/hostdev of CD-ROM is converted to /dev/cdrom. This may change in the final release.

  • Setting hard disk writethru is not yet supported on an ESX Server 3.0 host.

  • Setting memory/controls/max is not yet supported on an ESX Server 3.0 host.

  • PutUpdates for cd["key"]/exclusive is not supported on an ESX Server 3.0 host since it does not support Passthrough CDs.

  • A scheduled task cannot be created for PutUpdates.

  • Creating virtual machines with SCSI CD-ROMs on ESX Server 2.5 and ESX Server 3.0 hosts is not supported.

  • IDE hard disks are not supported on ESX Server hosts.

  • PutUpdates on hardware/net/controls (that is, NetworkControls) attributes are supported on ESX Server 2.5 hosts only. ESX Server 3.0 does not support PutUpdates on these attributes.

Limitations on Performance Collection Interval and Duration
Performance collection intervals must be multiples of 60 seconds. If the user tries to create a performance collector that is not a multiple of 60 seconds, an error will be thrown.

In addition, there are limitations as to the number of samples that can be collected. This limitation states that the duration (defined as the number-of-samples multiplied by the interval) must be less than the duration of the next performance collector and greater than the duration of the previous performance collector. If the user tried to create a performance collector with a number of samples that exceeded these limitations, the create operation would not fail. Instead, the perf collector that is created would have the closest possible number of samples to what the user specified, but not necessarily the same number.

For example, if there were already a 1 minute and a 5 minute performance collector, and I tried to create a 2 minute performance collector, the duration for the 2 minute new collector has to be greater than the duration of the 1 minute collector and less than the duration of the 5 minute performance collector.

Performance Collectors Not Persisted
Performance collectors are not persisted and are erased when the VirtualCenter Server is restarted.

Statistics Filter Level
VirtualCenter 2.0 introduces a feature whereby, for performance reasons, not all statistics are gathered at the default setting. VirtualCenter 2.0 defines several levels of statistics gathering referred to as filterLevel, with the lowest level being 1 and the highest being 4. The lower the level, the fewer statistics are gathered. To achieve full compatibility with 1.x servers with respect to statistics gathering, manually configure vpxd to use level 4 statistics. This has to be done in addition to turning on 1.x compatibility.

To resolve this issue, edit the vpxd.cfg file, which is typically found at:

C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/VMware/VMware VirtualCenter/vpxd.cfg

Add the following to the vpxd.cfg file: 

<vpxd>
   <stats>
      <filterLevel>4</filterLevel>
   </stats>
</vpxd>

Note that if the "vpxd" or "stats" tags are already present in vpxd.cfg they do not need to be added, but whatever of the above expression is missing needs to be inserted between the already existing tags.

The filterLevel settings can also be changed using the VI Client. For more information, see the documentation for that product.

Limit on Number of Event Collectors
You can create no more than 10 custom event collectors per session when you are using the 1.x compatibility feature of the SDK.

All 2.0 Event Argument Objects Not Visible in 1.x
All event argument objects (VmEventArgument, HostEventArgument, and so on) from the corresponding 2.0 Event object are not visible in the 1.x EventArgInfo datatype. Additional arguments are not yet implemented.

Miscellaneous Compatibility Issues

  • 1.x disk modes are no longer supported on ESX Server 3.0.

  • If you attempt to add a host without valid credentials (username and password), the host is not added.

  • The results from 1.x GetUpdate operations might include things for which no change has occurred.

  • RawDiskMappings are not yet supported by the compatibility layer.